I used BlackBerries in one form or another for many years. As a small business I was on the fringes of their target market so never received the best of customer service. But, their features kept me on board.

But, their service got worse and other companies changed and the entire environment changed. With BB10 on the horizon and my devices getting physically ratty I decided to buy some Playbooks to both test whether BlackBerry's claim to new, improved customer service was true and to explore tablets with an inexpensive device.

Ultimately, I found their customer service was poor at best. Without a forum such as this using BB was just too frustrating. Then BB10 came out with some holes that, in my opinion, were just inexcusable considering the company's long experience. The new devices were uninspiring to say the least. Time to go.

So, we decided to try Samsung S4 Actives and Note 8.0 tablets. Frankly, I am having a bear of a time getting used to touchscreens. But, ATT gave us Bluetooth keyboards, which we haven't used yet. I have some questions yet on security and malware protection. But, otherwise these are easy to use machines that make me happy we switched.

Their synching application, Samsung Kies, is no better than the BlackBerry product. In fact, in many respects it is worse. But, if a person decides to use either Samsung or Google 'Cloud" everything is seamless. So, guess they are just trying to promote their vision and products.

But, Tech Support is where Samsung is shining. Knowledgeable, Quick service to the general user is a hallmark. Today I was searching the Samsung web site for an answer. A Live Chat person popped up, unasked, to ask if I would like some help. Five minutes later I had the answer and the problem was solved.

BlackBerry name may come back. They still have a pretty substantial installed base and own some important stuff. But, it is going to need a major change in baseline philosophy. I hope they can do it. it would be nice to see a North American company back in the hunt.

I had a recent analogous experience with Amazon. I purchased an item (the BB Transform Shell case, actually) and had it shipped 2-day with my Prime account. Four day later, the case hadn't shown up, even though USPS told me they delivered it at my doorstep. Either some mailman took it home with him, or some random kid now has a case for a phone he doesn't own. When I went to the USPS website to find out how to get my missing package, I was given the option to call an 800 number or file a claim, which takes up to two weeks to process. Two weeks. I called the 800 number, but gave up after 10 minutes of menus and delays.

I chatted with an Amazon rep the next day. He not only replaced my lost item, but Amazon paid for overnight shipping. The case was at my door when I came home from work. I got my case, Amazon kept a happy customer. Win-win.

What's my point? Depending on who you are and what your situation is, Amazon is like Samsung, and BlackBerry is like USPS. Yes, both will offer the same basic products, but Samsung's service, at least in this case, is far superior.

Again, it's not a perfect analogy, but it works. BlackBerry needs to take situations like yours very seriously and improve their customer service.

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"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." -Thomas Jefferson